December Modules 23-26.docx

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School

York University

Department

Psychology

Course

PSYC 1010

Professor

all

Semester

Winter

Description

Psyc 1010 – Memory Modules 23,24,25,26
Module 23
-recall: is analogous to fill in the blanks, you retrieve information previously learned and
unconsciously stored
-recognition: is a form of multiple choice, you identify which stimuli match your stored
information
-Relearning: is a measure of how much less work it takes you to learn information you had
studied before, even if you don’t recall having seen the information before
-an information processing model
• Encoding: the information in to our brains in a way that allows it to be stored
• Storage: the information is held in a way that allows it to later be retrieved
• Retrieval: reactivating and recalling the information, producing it in a form similar to
what was encoded
-Atkinson-shiffrin model (1968)
1. Stimuli are recorded by our senses and held briefly in sensory memory
2. Some of this information is processed into short term memory and encoded through
rehearsal
3. Information then moves into long term memory where it can be retrieved later
-Working memory: function
• Short term memory is working in many ways
o It holds information not just to rehearse it, but to process it (such as hearing a
work problem in math and doing it in your head), short term memory integrates
information from long term memory with new information coming in from sensory
memory
• Dual track processing: explicit and implicit memories
o Explicit declarative memories: facts and experiences that we can consciously
know and recall
o Our minds acquire this information through effortful processing: studying,
rehearsing, thinking, processing, and then storing information in long term
memory
o Implicit memories: memories formed without going through all the stages
-Procedural memory: such as knowing how to ride a bike, and well-practiced knowledge
such as word meaning
-conditioned associations, such as a smell that triggers thoughts of a favourable place
(information about space, time, frequency)
-Sensory memory: the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information before it is
processed into short term or long term memory
-Capacity of short term and working memory
• George miller (1920) believed you could hold us to 7 +/- 2 information bits
o Now research is showing the average person can hold about 7 digits, 6 letters, 5
words
-Working memory: which uses rehearsal, focus, analysis, linking, and other processing, has a
greater capacity of working memory varies; some people have better concentration
-effortful processing is also known as studying
-memorizing meaningful material takes 1/10th the effort of memorizing nonsense syllables
-The self-reference effect: relating material to ourselves aids encoding and retention
-Effortful processing strategies: rehearsal and distributed practice
• Massed practice refers to cramming information all at once (it is not time effective) • The spacing effect- you will develop better retention and recall, if you use the same
amount of study time spread out over many shorter sessions
• The longer the time between study sessions, the better the long term retention, and the
fewer sessions you need
-Deep/semantic processing: when encoding information, we are more likely to retain it if we
deeply process even a simple word list by focusing on the semantics (meaning) of the words
• “shallow” unsuccessful processing refers to memorizing the appearance or sound of
words
Module 24
-Memory storage: capacity and location
• The brain is not like a hard drive
• The brain’s long term memory storage does not get full
• Parts of each memory can be distributed throughout the brain
• Neural networks
o Each item in memory is represented by a pattern or set of nodes
o Nodes activated simultaneously
o Referred to as parallel distributed processing models
-Memory processing in the brain:
• explicit/declarative memories include facts, stories, and meanings of words such as
the first time riding a bike, or facts about types of bicycles
• implicit memories include skills, procedures, and conditioned associations.
o The basal ganglia, next to the thalamus, controls movement, and forms and
stores procedural memory and motor skills. We can learn to ride a bicycle even if
we cant recall having the lesson
o The cerebellum forms and stores our conditioned responses. We can store a
phobic response even if we can’t recall how we acquired the fear
• Flashbulb memories refer to emotionally intense events that become “burned in” as
vivid seeming memory
o Note that flashbulb memories are not as accurate as they feel
-brain processing of memory Snaptic Changes
• With repetition, the synapses undergo long term potentiation, signals are sent across the
synapse more efficiently
Module 25
-Relearning time as a measure of retention: Ebbinghaus studied how much time does it take to
relearn and regain mastery of material?
• The more times he rehearsed out loud on day 1, the less time he needed to
relearn/memorize the same letters on day 2
-retr